Asylum seekers fear tough boat policy

HOURS after the election date was called, asylum seekers in Indonesia said they had begun scrambling to organise boat travel to Australia.

News Prime Minister Julia Gillard had announced a September 14 election spread through the coastal West Java village of Puncak, prompting asylum seekers to bring forward travel plans in case there was a change of government.

The coalition yesterday vowed to toughen its border protection policies further as Immigration Minister Chris Bowen declared the "government is the only party truly committed" to stopping boats.

"They are trying to get out of here very soon, as soon as possible ... because of that announcement," an Afghan man in Puncak said yesterday.

"My friends told me (about the election). Maybe the situation will be changed."

The man had paid $9000 to people smugglers in the expectation he would be temporarily detained in Australia and then granted asylum. Despite the sudden rush to arrange passage, many of the asylum seekers interviewed yesterday said they were unaware of Labor and Liberal border protection policies, including offshore processing in Nauru and Manus Island.

Almost 500 people reached Australia last month, a new January record, and it follows a record number of arrivals in 2012 when 17,270 people travelled on 274 boats.

The rush came as opposition immigration spokesman Scott Morrison said he would toughen the coalition's policies after visiting Sri Lanka with Deputy Opposition Leader Julie Bishop this week.

Mr Morrison will put plans before senior colleagues that would see boosts in assistance to Sri Lanka's navy and air surveillance assets with the aim of every asylum vessel being intercepted before they reached Australian waters.

Every Sri Lankan asylum seeker to arrive under a coalition government would be sent home, Mr Morrison said, and the coalition has maintained a policy of towing boats back to Indonesia, despite criticism of the policy from politicians there in Indonesia.

A spokesman for Mr Bowen said the minister would "not be lectured by the coalition" after it blocked the government's bid to send asylum seekers to Malaysia: "We have opened offshore processing centres on Nauru and PNG, and we've returned almost 1000 people to Sri Lanka, but we can't implement the Malaysia arrangement circuit-breaker because of Tony Abbott's negligent and disingenuous opposition to the policy."